lip

noun

\ˈlip

Definition of lip

(Entry 1 of 4)

1 : either of two fleshy folds that surround the mouth in humans and many other vertebrates and are organs of human speech essential to certain articulations also : the red or pinkish margin of the human lip

2 slang : back talk

3a : a fleshy edge or margin (as of a wound)

b : labium

c : labellum sense 1

d : a limb of a labiate corolla

4a : the edge of a hollow vessel or cavity

b : a projecting edge: such as

(1) : the beveled upper edge of the mouth of an organ flue pipe

(2) : the sharp cutting edge on the end of a tool (such as an auger)

(3) : a short spout (as on a pitcher)

c : edge sense 2

5 : embouchure

lip

adjective

Definition of lip (Entry 2 of 4)

1 : insincere lip praise

2 : produced with the participation of the lips : labial lip consonants

lip

verb

lipped; lipping

Definition of lip (Entry 3 of 4)

transitive verb

1 : to touch with the lips especially : kiss

2 : utter

3 : to lap against : lick

4 : to hit (a putt) so that the ball hits the edge of the cup but fails to drop in —usually used with out

intransitive verb

: to hit the edge of the cup without dropping in —used with out the putt lipped out

lip-

combining form

variants: or lipo-

Definition of lip- (Entry 4 of 4)

: fat : fatty tissue : fatty lipoid lipoprotein

Other Words from lip Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about lip

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Examples of lip in a Sentence

Noun

He had a cut on his lip. She was nervously biting her lip. the lips of a wound the lip of a crater the lip of a pitcher

Adjective

part of the ritual of the awards ceremony is the nominee's lip praise for the performances of his or her competitors

Verb

the waves, reflecting the red glow of the sunset, gently lipped the prow

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The Real Housewives Of New York O.G. has a tendency to stick her foot directly in her mouth and then deny the fact there’s even a designer shoe hanging out of her lips. — refinery29.com, "Did Ramona Singer Finally Have A Breakthrough On RHONY?," 28 June 2018 The man who, it is said, liked to smile and place a finger to his lips when asked about his life as a spy, probably wouldn’t tell you. — Michael O’sullivan, kansascity, "Paul Rudd’s ‘The Catcher Was a Spy’ bobbles a fascinating real-life story," 28 June 2018 But the president asked her to come closer for a kiss, pointing to his lips. — BostonGlobe.com, "Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte criticized for kissing woman at event in Seoul," 4 June 2018 On her lips, Middleton wore a sheer pinky nude shade. — Jenna Rosenstein, Harper's BAZAAR, "How Meghan Markle's Royal Wedding Makeup Was Different From Kate Middleton's," 19 May 2018 Embiid made baskets, finished plays, got rebounds and shushed the crowd with a finger to his lips all while shaking off prodigious amounts of rust in Philadelphia’s 128-108 win over the Heat in Game 3 of their first-round NBA Playoff series. — Dave Hyde, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Hyde: Philly's man in the mask enters series, takes Game 3 from Heat | Commentary," 20 Apr. 2018 Then, one of the most eloquent extemporaneous speeches of the 20th century tumbled from his lips. — Alice George, Smithsonian, "When Robert Kennedy Delivered the News of Martin Luther King’s Assassination," 2 Apr. 2018 Johnson put his finger to his lips to signify that Humphrey was to tell no one, Jones wrote in the New York Times in 1988. — The Washington Post, AL.com, "LBJ left the 1968 presidential race 50 years ago today," 31 Mar. 2018 After locking lips with their sleeping victims, these inch-long insects take a dainty dump at the scene of the crime. — Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian, "How Tiny Trackers Could Help Humans Avoid Kissing Bugs’ Deadly Smooch," 9 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

While most of us would be left fumbling in the moments when Jenner bakes her face at warp speed or applies lip liner with her eyes closed, Manny fully manages to pull it off — and even swaps some of her hero products for more affordable versions. — Zoe Weiner, Allure, "Watch Manny MUA Flawlessly Recreate Kylie Jenner’s Entire Makeup Routine," 9 July 2018 Gonna miss the pink 💞🍬👛🌸🍭🎀 A post shared by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on Mar 9, 2018 at 7:44am PST Wearing @kkwbeauty lipstick shade 3 in the center and 4 all over with lip liner 2. — Chloe Metzger, Marie Claire, "Kim Kardashian Just Dyed Her Hair Dark, Inky Blue," 13 June 2018 Jenner, who officially surpassed older sister Kim Kardashian West as the most profitable member of the family, turned her idea to launch lip kits into a $900 million business in the span of two years. — Jodi Guglielmi, PEOPLE.com, "Kylie Jenner: Someone Started a GoFundMe to Raise the $100M She Needs to Become a Billionaire," 12 July 2018 Prior to her sister Khloe Kardashian telling the world about her lip injections, Jenner often chalked up her lip fullness to an overlining trick. — Marci Robin, Allure, "Kylie Jenner Told a Fan She "Got Rid of All My Filler" on Instagram," 9 July 2018 Wearing @kkwbeauty lipstick shade 3 in the center and 4 all over with lip liner 2. — Sarah Spellings, The Cut, "Kim Kardashian’s Nude Lipsticks Are Selling Out," 13 June 2018 Back to school' music videos are a thing in Dallas-Fort Worth Advertisement Police lip sync videos have been all the rage for the summer of 2018, but a Fort Worth ISD teacher is prepping a 'back to school,' video to take take back their crown. — Diane Smith, star-telegram, "Hey, Fort Worth students, do you know what time classes start next school year?," 13 July 2018 Cosplay events include a craftsmanship contest, a dating game and a lip sync battle. — Courant Staff, courant.com, "Things To Do This Week," 9 July 2018 Theft An employee of a business in the 1900 block of Tower Drive told police June 26 that someone took lip balm off the shelf and left the store. — Alexandra Kukulka, chicagotribune.com, "Blotter: Wallets stolen from lockers in Glenview," 6 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Both sides in the special counsel’s case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn are staying tight-lipped after a judge demanded information about why Flynn’s sentencing is once again being delayed. — Alex Pappas, Fox News, "Mueller, Flynn give vague response when judge demands answers on sentencing delays," 2 July 2018 In the past month, law enforcement agencies around the country have been posting videos of officers lip syncing and challenging other departments to do the same. — Asia Fields, The Seattle Times, "Lip-syncing cops in Virginia challenge Seattle police in viral video," 10 July 2018 His pitch was pretty good given the circumstances, but his putt from about 12-feet lipped out, leaving for a bogey. — Adam Woodard, USA TODAY, "Tiger Tracker: Follow Tiger Woods' Saturday round at his tournament, the Quicken Loans National," 30 June 2018 Other pitchers might drop an F-bomb but cover their faces with their gloves so fans (and umps) can’t lip-read their profanity. — Lee Judge Special To The Star, kansascity, "What happens when a Royals player loses it? Why, he 'snaps,' of course | The Kansas City Star," 15 May 2018 Police and fire departments around the country have been challenging one another to lip sync battles this week. — Johnny Diaz, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Boca Raton cop wows social media by lip-syncing to 'Frozen' song," 10 July 2018 Mueller and his team have been remarkably close-lipped throughout their investigation — keeping President Trump’s team, the media, and Washington generally in the dark both about their overall strategy and about what their next moves will be. — Andrew Prokop, Vox, "Does Mueller think Paul Manafort is the key to collusion?," 15 June 2018 Social media stardom comes with fans and bullies Laverne was a freshman when her Musical.ly videos — mostly her offering makeup tutorials and deftly lip-syncing to pop songs — began gaining serious attention well beyond her high school classmates. — Justin Jacobs, Indianapolis Star, "Greenwood teen has 3M Musical.ly fans. But after being bullied, she goes to school alone," 6 July 2018 About 50 percent of the score will be new selections, but the creators are being tight-lipped about what fans can expect to hear. — Christopher Wallenberg, BostonGlobe.com, "A new ‘Moulin Rouge!’ for a new Colonial," 5 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lip.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for lip

Noun

Middle English, from Old English lippa; akin to Old High German leffur lip and probably to Latin labium, labrum lip

Combining form

New Latin, from Greek, from lipos — more at leave

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Dictionary Entries near lip

Statistics for lip

Last Updated

16 Oct 2018

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for lip

The first known use of lip was before the 12th century

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More Definitions for lip

lip

noun

English Language Learners Definition of lip

: either one of the two soft parts that surround the mouth

: the edge of a cut or hole

: the edge of a container especially where it is slightly spread out

See the full definition for lip in the English Language Learners Dictionary

lip

noun

\ˈlip

Kids Definition of lip

1 : either of the two folds of flesh that surround the mouth

2 : the edge of a hollow container (as a jar) especially where it is slightly spread out

3 : an edge (as of a wound) like or of flesh

4 : an edge that sticks out the lip of a roof

lip

noun

\ˈlip

Medical Definition of lip

1 : either of the two fleshy folds which surround the opening of the mouth in humans and many other vertebrates and in humans are organs of speech essential to certain articulations also : the pinkish or reddish margin of a human lip composed of nonglandular mucous membrane and usually exposed when the mouth takes on its natural set

2 : an edge of a wound

3 : either of a pair of fleshy folds surrounding an orifice

4 : an anatomical part or structure (as a labium) resembling a lip